During the production life cycle of an oil well, a rod string or tubular string may need to be pulled out of hole or run into hole for various reasons. For example, to initiate controlled recovery, a tubular string is run down-hole to provide a controlled pathway for fluid resources to be brought from the well to the surface. A sucker rod string may also be run down-hole to actuate a pump installed within the well. In some cases, after a tubular string and/or a rod string is initially run down-hole, the tubular string and/or rod string may need to be pulled out of hole for repair or maintenance of the well or other down-hole equipment. Thus, the tubular string and/or rod string are pulled out of hole mid-production and then run back in after the necessary maintenance is completed. At the end of a wells production life, the tubular string and/or rod string is likewise pulled out of hole.
The processes of pulling a rod string or tubular string out of a well and running a rod string or tubular string into a well are examples of a class of operations known as tripping. Tripping operations typically require several large pieces of equipment to perform various aspects of the processes. For example, as a rod string or tubular string is pulled out of hole, the string segments, which are generally threaded together at the ends to form the string, are to be unthreaded from each other as they are lifted out of hole. Typically, a tong device is used to rotate a segment or coupling from the rest of the string to unthread the segment from the string. Conventionally, such task requires an operator to interface with the tong device or even to actuate the tong device. In addition to requiring operator interfacing for unthreading string segments, typical tripping processes and the equipment involved require a significant amount of human intervention.
Furthermore, many wells utilize both tubular and rods down-hole. Thus, both rod tripping processes and tubular tripping processes will need to be performed for such wells. However, rods and tubulars require different handling. Thus, generally, different equipment is used to handle rods and tubulars. Specifically, rods, which are thinner and more fragile than tubulars require special handling to avoid damage to the rods. However, conventional tripping equipment and methods are generally not suitable for handling rods, and are not flexible between handling rods and handling tubulars. Typical tripping equipment also lacks a degree of flexibility, customizable control, and efficiency that could improve the cost, time, and operator experience of the process.